zack1a

Hahaha, nice. What if all of life worked that way? A day at Best Buy Customer: "I can't really tell the difference between the $600 television and the $3,000 one. Can you explain what I'm missing?" Salesman: "You'll know the difference when you buy it." Customer: "Ah thanks, got it. I'll take it."

Coming from a Army infantry combat brigade I was under the impression I'd left the ego and bravado behind. Unfortunately, this has proven an ignorant assumption. I've met (many) Generals who put less emphasis on the letters beside their name. Anyways here is a brief synopsis of what I've learned. ASN and BSN differences primarily include several miscellaneous credits. Let's face it, no matter how you slice it, to get any bachelor's degree you need 130ish credits. I took yoga, fencing, water exercise, and life skills” among others. This really shaped me. I had an extremely difficult time getting onboard taking nonsense classes so, in order to maintain my sanity, I took additional science courses. One year gen chem, organic chemistry, biochem, microbiology, and genetics. Believe it or not I had to have a long talk with the program director to get her to apply over 2 years in additional science credits as electives instead of taking checkers 102. After working as nurse I can't believe how many, BSN and ASN, programs do not require college level chemistry outside of non-major courses. These classes are ridiculous and I don't see how an advisor would allow anyone to pigeon hole their credits in this manner, but this is another issue entirely. Also many programs lack college algebra further compounding the issue ensuring you'd have to essentially start your math over in order to meet upper level science prerequisites if you decide to better yourself. BSN specific courses were essentially an expansion of a condensed overview” class taken during my ASN. Management, public health, research, and then statistics. Most, if not all, of your classes are derivatives of these. Then there are several courses that will basically revisit everything you did in your ASN, courses like assessment and theory. I found these were identical to my ASN courses and this really made me rethink the value of this degree. All in all I'll tell you what the difference is. Your hospital is in better shape for magnet status. What does this mean for you? Great question, when you figure it out let me know. I have yet to meet a patient or family member that has chosen my facility based on this. The only people who even know what it is work in the industry and, if they've researched it, realize what little it actually does. There are some funding implications, but I've seen none of it on the floor. Transition programs are an extraordinary business venture, especially if your facility has any affiliation with an educational institution. They pay you and then you pay them so they'll keep paying you, got it. I'm aware some hospitals will give you a pay bump, this is great. Unfortunately in my state, as with many others, this is not the case. Outside of the 5 year contract they make you sign when you're hired stating you will get your BSN or be fired, the motivation is nonexistent. In what world is a new grad BSN better than a 5 year vet? Mine, evidently. You're another day older and deeper in debt. Once you have the mortgage, car payment, student loans, and Jr. on the way your mobility is severely diminished. Financial liability, coupled with a reduced chance you'll defect as you age, creates an excellent control mechanism. This is an effective short term plan to get a few more years from your staff even if they're unhappy. Unfortunately, with many studies placing nursing burnout around five years, it apparently does little for longevity. Personal development. If this is your only interest please see my above paragraph on science courses. I learned infinitely more about pharmacology and everything in general, literally everything, taking these classes than any class in the transition curriculum. The research courses were interesting, but I promise you'll never learn as much as you'd learn in an upper level science course. Again, take courses for majors! Yes they are more difficult, but you'll be taking classes with future pharmacists and physicians. Please tell me, how can it be a bad thing? I promise you'll get much more respect from that mean resident” if they find out you had the same organic chemistry lab professor. Many of these issues are from the shear fact that they know most nurses take easier courses and it pissed them off every day of the semester. Before the flame war between begins let me don my armor and preface this post with a your experience may vary” clause. To be honest, I hope it does. I am extremely pro education, however taking classes to take classes sends smoke out my ears. Also, for those of you who mention a reduction in errors between the two degrees please cite your source. I've heard and seen this posted before, but I haven't had the opportunity to review the data.

calivianya: I can definitely see your frustration here. I have witnessed the awe in some nurses eyes when they hear another female doesn't have interest in having children. It's really quite shocking to hear some of the responses to people talking about all the things they want to accomplish in life and then they fail to mention children in the equation. For some this is the equation, Graduate College + Get Job + Get Married + Have Children = Happy Life No exceptions. I support your, or anyone's, pursuit to whatever makes them happy, write your own equation.

I feel the same way, this isn't an appropriate decision to be made with the aid of an online poll. I wouldn't be so quick to assume that you'll get done with CRNA school a whole lot sooner than you would be done with medical school. By the time you finish your nursing degree, find a job in an ICU, get the experience, and finish CRNA school your time tables won't be far off of each other. The CRNA route does offer an upside as it won't be as big of a commitment as medical school. I'm not saying its easier, I'm just saying if you change your mind midway through medical you don't have anything to fall back on. If you change your mind midway through CRNA school you at least have an RN degree and ICU experience under your belt. One thing you'll learn is the value of experience is much greater than of your degree. My best advice is to take as much chemistry as you can right now. You'll need these regardless of what you decide. Take biochem, organic, inorganic, and whatever else you can find. This will not only help you with your decision, but will also help you see where you'll stack up when you ultimately apply for schools. Additionally, you may end up liking chemistry and you'll be closer to a bachelors. There is a lot of opportunity for chem grads, so even if it doesn't work out you'll have something of value. Also if you're not aware many, if not most, medical schools don't care what your bachelors is in as long as you meet their prerequisite requirements and have an acceptable MCAT score. As for the nay sayers, who cares what they think. No one would ever become anything if they listened to these people in the shadows. You can do whatever you want whenever you want as long as you have the aptitude and put in the time. I hope this helps! -Zack

"Yup, right up the pee hole"

The thread is actually discussing the ASN to BSN program which is for those who already have a nursing degree. If anyone was wondering, since there really is no clinical space required, this program isn't competitive. The BSN program you're referring to, I assume, is for those who have a previous bachelor degree. It is competitive because you haven't completed any clinical hours yet. My best advice to you is to get an A in 201 since you must get As in 101;102; and 201 to transfer with an A in Anatomy and a A in Physiology at IUPUI. This is particularly important, because you'll probably drop down on the list since you're a buckeye. ; ) Have you received any free tatoos recently?Best of luck to you.

This morning I saw a red car run a red light. Therefore I have come to the realization that all failure to stop tickets are written to drivers of red cars. Furthermore, only yellow cars drive through yellow lights and only green cars drive through green lights. In conclusion, I think we should allocate tax dollars to update stop lights to include more colors.

IndiCRNA: Are you aware of which other states allow CRNAs to run an independent practice? Or, even better, do you know where this information can be found? Thanks, Zack

Anyone attending IUPUI in the Spring for the ASN-BSN transition? I really have no idea what to expect. Maybe we could set up a study group or something. Look forward to hearing from you.

Correction, he did say it was 3.0 I guess you just have to figure out what your GPA is now and add the number of credits you'll earn from WGU at 3.0

As long as its accredited, which it is, you'll be fine. The only problem you may run into is if the program is competitive. If I'm not mistaken, WGU uses a pass/fail system. I'm not sure how they can use this when calculating your GPA. A friend of mine intended to go to WGU, but joined me at IUPUI because he said he would only get credit for a C average at WGU. I don't know if this is the case, but I'd definitely ask.I hope this helps. Let me know if you have anymore questions.

Unfortunately, according to Texas Code Crim. Proc. 55.02, you're right. The only way to have it expunged is if you we're acquitted or win an appeal. Another option to look into is to see if you can get the record sealed. I'm not too familiar with this, a quick search on a Texas DUI attorney's website mentioned this as a potential option. Someone else could tell you more, but from what I understood, it wouldn't show up on a background check, however State organizations could access it. This is important because it sounds like your probablem wouldn't be getting your CRNA license, but getting insurance. An insurance company won't have the same access as a state agency would because they can still use an expunged/sealed case to justify sentencing for a future conviction, i.e. 2nd offense DUI.Again I'm not an attorney, but I sympathize with you for a 10 year old conviction causing you trouble.Best of luck to ya

My first question would be how long ago was the conviction. Next would be, are you eligible for expungement? If you don't have other offenses, related or otherwise, and enough time has elapsed you may be able to get it wiped from your record. You will still likely be required to report it to your BON to be safe, but it shows your willingness to work past it as well as the state's willingness to let it go. Also, it's very unlikely the insurance company would be able to find a record of the case. So they wouldn't know unless they had a copy of your BON application. Of course laws vary greatly by state, but it's worth a look. Many attorney's that do these will hear your situation and generally let you know if its possible for free. Try google for expungement in (your state).

I used the Saunders CD that came with the book. I did over 1000 questions. My best advice is to review the test taking techniques in the book thoroughly. These will help you answer questions even if you don't know the specific drug, disorder, ect.Best of luck to you!

Last summer I was in your exact position and my advisor, assuming I just wanted to do enough to get by, told me to take Survey of General, Organic and Biochemistry. Approaching the end of the semester I'm really beginning to learn how worthless this class actually is. If you want to take future chem course take gen chem. Basically, it's a science filler course for those who don't want to go any further. Maybe you're happy with an ASN or BSN and don't want to go any further, then it will fulfill your goal. However, if you ever decided to go beyond RN, don't get into nursing, or want to transfer to something different you'll have to start back at square one. In fact, I stay away from courses titled "survey of" anything, especially math! If you only want to do the minimum, which is fine college=money, take the class. If you want to going into graduate work that requires chemistry or you plan on transferring at some point take general. IMO it's the most universally accepted chemistry transfer course.Best of luck to you! BTW, I'm an ASN RN working towards my BSN with a goal of going into graduate work.